Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Joanne Garcia. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Joanne, we’re thrilled to have you sharing your thoughts and lessons with our community. So, for folks who are at a stage in their life or career where they are trying to be more resilient, can you share where you get your resilience from?
That’s such an interesting question … because to me, resilience isn’t something you learn or pickup. And it’s not something that you’re necessarily born with. I think resilience comes from going through life and dealing with and surviving hardships.
Life is hard. Things happen. There are let downs and disappointments and pain and heartache – all these things can attribute to loss but it also gives us opportunity to grow and learn and experience. We are tested in the fires and come out more resilient because of that.
For me, personally, that looked like losing my dream job back in 2010. I was fresh out of college and working at a big magazine and I loved every aspect of that. But then I lost that job and with that, I lost my identity. I was at a complete loss at what to do with my life, what was next, how to get back on my own two feet. That heaviness made EVERYTHING else in my life 1000x harder.
Dealing with job loss in a crap economy where no one was hiring – that was tough in all arenas – mentally, emotionally, financially, spiritually. Diving in for myself as a freelance creative that knew nothing of running my own business, that’s equal parts bravery and stupidity. Moving to a new city where I knew no one and going out there to find a community to thrive in, that was daring. Picking up the mantle when both my dad and my roommate got sick and they needed full time caregiving, that was selfless. And to deal with both their deaths within months of each other after years of taking care of them, that was devastating.
All of these hardships, each in its own way, were the worst. But also they were the best. Because I was tested and I chose to persevere and not give up.
I learned to have a thicker skin since losing my job at the magazine. And I learned to always put deals in writing before doing a job. I learned that finding genuine friends that truly last takes effort and a lot of trust and TON of communication. And I learned empathy when taking care of my dad and my friend. And when they died, I took the time to grieve and rest and heal from all that.
These experiences – that’s where I get my resilience.
That and God. And my family who raised me and always believed the best for me. But sometimes life is the best teacher.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
Hi. My name is Joanne and I’m a creative director based out of Los Angeles.
I love to make things. I’m all about visual branding and design. I especially love where creative meets business.
One can say my specialties are websites, commercial/lifestyle photography, videography, graphic design. All true.
But in essence, I love to partner with brands and small businesses to help them grow and strategize and find creative ways to market themselves. It’s really fun for me to dream up ways to share a product or service or story to the masses.
And I honestly love doing all that for really good people.
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That’s what I do for work. But what I do for fun (and also what I’d like to grow) – I run a k-pop reaction channel with my friend, Allison. It’s so much fun! We get to introduce people to k-pop and create content our viewers within the world of k-entertainment.
I’ve been learning more about the world of YouTube and growing an audience and I hope to expand that into video podcasting or mini shows or interesting series.
Running this channel is my favorite thing that I do. It’s part creative, part self-discovery (as an Asian American), part purposeful content creation. To me, it’s not a dumb channel, although the premise can sound dumb. But we bring a lot of depth in our videos along with the entertainment.
Plus, I’m working on a series right now that will be very deep and meaningful. I can share that with you later once it’s been posted.
Here’s my channel: https://www.youtube.com/@k-popcrashcourse
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Teachable Spirit – Always be teachable. Be willing to learn and always seek ways to grow. Whether that’s watching tutorials on YouTube, finding a mentor, taking a class, asking questions – whatever it is, seek out wisdom and find out ways to troubleshoot things. Don’t be a mindless dope and not ask for help. Google things when you don’t know the answer. And don’t be afraid to try new things.
Networking is Super Key – You can’t lean on your skills alone. And you can’t just expect people to find you. Go out there and meet some people! Shake hands, introduce yourself. Chit chat a bit. It’s not that scary! Learn how to comfortably tell people what you do within a few sentences and make it super natural. Making connections with people IRL (and even digitally these days) can go a LONG way in helping you in both life and career.
Just Do – As a photographer, one of the pieces of advice I heard all the time is “go shoot.” It’s as simple as that. Shoot a lot of photography. Master your craft. Keep doing and you’ll not only get better over time, but you’ll start to build a portfolio and your work will slowly create its own style and voice. That is the same with any type of field – GO DO IT. And keep doing it. Until you become the best, when it becomes second nature, when you have a huge volume of work, when you feel like you’re creating something you’re happy with.
How can folks who want to work with you connect?
I’m looking to collaborate with people who have interesting ideas and stories.
Deep down, I’m a storyteller first. And I’ve done that through writing and photo essays and video series. I’d love to help bring more meaningful stories to the forefront.
I’ve gotten better and even learned some new skills over the past few years during the pandemic. I’d really love to utilize these skills in this way for others.
You can email me at hello@joannegarcia.com
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.joannegarcia.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joannegarcia
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joannegarcia/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@k-popcrashcourse
- Other: https://www.patreon.com/kpopcrashcourse
Image Credits
I took these photos. Joanne Garcia
